


Unconditionally

by Anarchyduck



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Human & Country Names Used (Hetalia), Love, Love Confessions, Nationverse, Nyotalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27427456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anarchyduck/pseuds/Anarchyduck
Summary: Prussia is faced with the sudden realization that she might be in love.
Relationships: Liechtenstein/Prussia (Hetalia), Male Liechtenstein/Female Prussia (Hetalia)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Unconditionally

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt “I struggle with the idea of anyone loving me unconditionally”

“You’re in love.” France said suddenly. 

Prussia inhaled sharply mid drink, causing bitter coffee to run down the wrong way. After a moment of hacking and making a spectacle of herself, she shot France a look. “What?” She croaked and cleared her throat once again. 

“I said you’re in love. Oh stop looking at me like I grew another head. It’s true.” 

Prussia balked at the idea. “No I’m not! That’s... where did that come from?” 

“I’ve seen the way you look at him.” France kept smiling smugly, like she prided in knowing a secret Prussia did not. It reminded her of the early days of Napoleon and a rejuvenated Marianne smirking down at her. 

Prussia clicked her tongue. “That’s stupid.” she said. “I don’t look at him in any special way.”

“But you do.” France shifted in her seat, her attention briefly caught by an elderly couple sitting down at the table next to them. Prussia noticed it as well, the way the old man pushed in his wife’s seat before taking his own. 

“That’s stupid.” She tore her eyes from the couple to glare at France. “Liechtenstein and I are just having fun. Hanging out.” 

“Maria dear, we hang out and I don’t ever remember bringing you flowers when it wasn’t a special occasion.”

“That’s because you’ve never bought me flowers.”

“That’s beside the point.” She waved her off. “The point is, he is in love with you.” 

Prussia’s jaw tightened as she gritted her teeth. She looked away and into the half empty cup of coffee that nearly tried to choke her moments before. “No, he’s not.” she said, voice a little tighter. “And even if he was, so what?”

“I believe it means a great deal, don’t you?” 

“Not really.”

France raised a thin brow. “And why is that?” she asked and rolled her eyes as Prussia merely shrugged her shoulders. “Look, if I’m right and he, God help him, does love you, then you need to do something about it. It’s entirely unfair of you to string him along.”

“I’m not! I’m just, we’re just, it’s…” Prussia fumbled over her words, caught in a moment where her mind ran too quickly for her tongue to keep up. She huffed an irritated sigh and said, “I’m way too busy for stupid things like that. And so is he! So, you can wipe that stupid look off your face.”

Ding! A sharp chime from her phone suddenly broke through. Prussia picked it up off the table, wiping her finger on the back to unlock the screen, to see a text message. 

From Liechtenstein. 

_Noah:  
My flight has been delayed so I will not arrive in Paris until late tonight. I’m sorry we cannot meet for dinner, but would breakfast be alright? I can’t wait to see you =) <3 _

She stared at the message, first feeling the short lived wave of disappointment before it softened at the heart shaped emoji. Her lips twitched upward into the beginning of a smile. 

“Is that Liechtenstein?” France asked in a sing song tone.

Prussia’s smile disappeared and she set the phone back down without reply. “None of your business.” 

“Mm hm.” France hummed, unconvinced. Thankfully, she doesn’t press the subject, changing the topic on her sudden decision to go shopping. While Prussia wasn’t a huge fan of being dragged all around Paris, she felt it would be a welcome distraction. Better than having France continue prying into her life. 

\--- 

Shopping did not help, not in the slightest. 

She finally replied to Liechtenstein’s text, albeit it was a couple hours later. He didn’t seem to mind. He never did, no matter what she did. It was a quality that both confused and infuriated her. He replied immediately and ended it with another smiley face emoji. Though it wasn’t a silly heart, her own traitorous one skipped a beat, and she felt a flash of giddy happiness. If France noticed, she never commented.

The woman’s words, however, haunted her through the reminder of the day. Sometimes she caught them when her mind wandered while walking from one shop to another. Other couples walking and holding hands, laughing as they passed. She flexed her left hand, rubbing her thumb against her fingers and found it empty. Then, just as quickly, her senses slapped back into place and she pushed it back into the further reaches of her mind.

Later that night, as she lay in her hotel room, those thoughts crawled back up to the surface. She stared at the dimly lit ceiling, arms spread on the bed. A thousand thoughts raced through her head, exhausting her, and keeping her alert. At the top of it all, France’s words came springing back. About love and her questioning the relationship between her and Liechtenstein. As if it were any of her business in the first place. Just because they were friends didn’t make her an expert. 

Prussia frowned and clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Stupid bitch.” She muttered. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” 

It was laughable and absurd. It went against everything she was, everything she had been. She spent the better part of her life with a promise to never submit. She ran from the idea of relationships and marriage. She didn’t need it, didn’t want it. It did awful things to a person. Changed them for the worst and made them act like fools. 

Her jaw tightened and she rolled over, burying her face deep into her pillow. The idea of suffocating herself came to mind, though was quickly abandoned. Dealing with the troubles of resurrection wasn’t worth it, no matter how amusing it would be for someone to walk in. She had things to do in the morning, such as meeting Liechtenstein.

The thought of seeing him weighed on her chest and she turned onto her side to slide her hand across the sheets of the empty space next to her. It was cold and empty and oh, how she wished it wasn’t. How much better would it be to have someone lying next to her? A warm body with arms around her, holding her close and petting her hair. Surely that wasn’t too outrageous of a thought. It wouldn’t make her a traitor of her morals to want that, did it?

Liechtenstein’s plane landed a couple hours ago. He sent her a message, letting her know and bidding her goodnight with promises of tomorrow. There was part of her that wished he asked for her to come to his room. Another part wished she had asked herself. She could show up at his door, now. He wouldn’t turn her away. He would greet her, rubbing his eyes because she woke him from sleep. Then he would smile and move aside to let her into the room. No hesitation.

Gripping the pillow, Prussia dragged it to throw her arm over it and lay her head on it. It was embarrassing how much she longed for him. To be with him, to hold his hand, to laugh with him. She couldn’t remember the last time someone made her as happy as he did. She looked forward to every kiss and prayed that it wouldn’t be the last.

It left her wondering how much time she had left to enjoy it. How much longer until he grew tired of her antics? When would his smile fade and his sighs become more irritated and less amused? When would the sex not be good enough to deal with the rest of her? When would she be left alone again to pick up the pieces?

Her arms tightened around the pillow and breathed out a heavy sigh. She had to let him go, before he woke up and realized what a terrible mistake he’d made. Before he realized she didn’t know how to love, that she would never be able to give herself completely to him. She couldn’t bear hearing more empty promises of future happiness. Those things weren’t for her and she was fine with that. She accepted it. 

But that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. 

The bed squeaked as Prussia flopped onto her back, throwing blankets off as she climbed out of bed. She didn’t pause, didn’t stop to think. Her mind raced too quickly, as fast as the blood racing in her veins from her beating heart. With renewed determination, Prussia hurried to the door of her room and headed out. 

\---

Several minutes later, she stood outside Liechtenstein’s hotel room. Her fist raised, prepared to knock, and only then did she pause. A brief moment of hesitation as her mind attempted to catch up, to warn her of possible mistakes. By that point, her knuckles made contact with the wood and it was too late. 

There was a moment of silence and so she knocked again, louder. Another pause and she prepared to knock again, stopping when she heard slight shuffling and the door unlocking. She put her arm down as the door opened, greeted by a drowsy Liechtenstein. 

“Maria?” He blinked, eyes opening a little wider. She always thought his eyes were pretty. How the green varied in hues, from lush mountain green to rolling grassy hills. “What are you…” he paused, his lovely green eyes looking downward. “Where are your shoes?” 

“Look, we have to talk.” Prussia said quickly, before he could distract her. “Like, right now. Can’t wait.”

Confusion swept across his face, immediately replaced by concern. “Now? Is everything all right?” 

“Yeah, sure! Well, no. But yes!”

Liechtenstein’s brows remained drawn together. “Okay...” he said and stepped back into the room, opening the door wider.

Prussia crossed the threshold into the dimly lit hotel room, her head held high and shoulders back. She walked with purpose to the center of the room then stopped, her eyes wandering the space. Sheets on one side of the bed were pulled back. His suitcase sat neatly on the grey settee, unzipped but not open. A slim brown leather briefcase lay on the table next to a laptop that was closed. 

“So,” Liechtenstein started. “What did you want to talk about?” 

“Saw France today.” Prussia grimaced the moment it left her mouth. That was not how she wanted to start. “And she was saying some real stupid shit, about you.” 

“About me?” Liechtenstein’s voice tilted up in surprise. Her back was still to him so she couldn’t see his face, though she imagined his brow was raised a little. The right one that had the jagged scar running through it. 

“Yeah! And she was making wild claims and just being her usual nosy bitch self.” she said. “She’s been like this, you know? Sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Surprised she hasn’t completely lost it by now. Bet the guillotine caught it before it caught her neck.”

“That’s a little-”

“You know she actually suggested we were in love!” she continued on. She began to pace without realizing, waving her hands around as she talked. “Like, like we were some… romantic couple! How stupid is that, right? I mean, we’re not like that. We have fun and we hang out and we fuck. And that’s it!”

“Maria-” 

“And that’s good enough! We don’t need something silly and sentimental as love.” she rambled on. “Gross! I mean, I don’t love you! How dumb would that be? I don’t need something as stupid as love! It’s weakness! I’ve never needed it before and I don’t need it now! That’s not me and I don’t want it! I don’t-!”

Hands caught hers and it took everything for Prussia not to flinch away. Liechtenstein’s hands were not rough but they weren’t entirely soft either. There was a thin scar across the back of his right hand and she chose to focus on it. His fingers caressed the inside of her wrist. 

“Maria,” his voice was gentle. “You know I would never do anything to make you unhappy, right?” 

Not trusting her voice, she nodded. 

“But I can’t read minds, so if you are unhappy, I hope you trust me enough to tell me.” 

“I…” Prussia licked her lips. She wiggled her toes against the stiff carpet as her racing mind began to slow. “I do trust you.” She breathed in deep and exhaled. He continued rubbing his fingers against her wrist. It wasn’t constricting. It didn’t feel like the shackles of her nightmares. Liechtenstein never tried to hold her down. There was always a gentle kindness in the way he touched her, as if she would bolt or break. Rough touches she knew. Hands that bite as they hold her, pulling and tugging at her as they tried forcing her to conform. She knew all about roughness and knew how to be rough in return. Gentle kindness was foreign. “I struggle... with the idea of anyone loving me unconditionally.” 

Liechtenstein lightly squeezed her hands. “Would you be angry if I did?” 

Prussia frowned lightly. “Did what?” 

“If I loved you unconditionally.” 

Her breath caught in her throat. She raised her head and found him smiling, warm and loving. She’d seen it before, many times. The way he looked at her, as if she was the most perfect being in the world. As though she was all that mattered to him. There could be a room full of people and he would only show that smile to her. It made her weak, made her breath catch in her throat. 

“I…” Prussia trailed off. 

Her mind, once racing too fast, was empty of words. Instead she thought of the times they spent together. Of the first time he kissed her, how he asked before doing it and how she laughed because it was ridiculous and told him yes. How she went to bed that night with a smile and looking forward to their next date. She looked forward to visiting him, on spending weeks on end at his house. He left part of the wardrobe open for her clothes. Her toothbrush was in his bathroom. She never brought a toothbrush to another man’s house because she knew the game. They would have their fun and she would leave. It wasn’t like that with Liechtenstein. She didn’t want it to be like that with him. 

Slowly, Prussia leaned herself forward, her forehead making contact with his shoulder as she rested against him. Her eyes closed as she felt him release her hands and his arms wrap around her. He pressed a kiss to a spot above her ear.

“Will you stay?” 

She wanted to laugh. Or cry, she wasn’t quite sure. Her mind was a tangled web of complicated things she couldn’t quite untangle. She breathed out a sigh, relaxing further into his embrace. 

A single thought suddenly surfaced and she chuckled lightly. “I’ll have to.” she said. “Forgot my key in my room.” 

Liechtenstein scoffed a laugh and pressed another kiss to her head. She laughed again and lifted her head to look at him. He loosened his hold on her as she moved her arms up, hands cupping his face and she leaned in to kiss him. His arms tightened around her once again and she wanted nothing more than to melt into him. For him to hold her and to promise to never let her go. 

She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck as he pulled back to kiss her nose then her forehead. Prussia closed her eyes and yawned as the full weight of her restless night began to settle. She laid her head against his shoulder, sighing pleasantly as he rubbed her back. 

“We should go to bed.” he said close to her ear. “Long day tomorrow.” 

Prussia hummed in agreement. Few more hours and they would have to be up again. Until then, she could have him. He pressed another sweet kiss to her hair and she raised her head to kiss him once more before moving away to climb into bed. Darkness enveloped the room as he switched off the light and joined her. She reached for him first and he let her pull her closer, his arms settling around her as she laid her head on his chest. So what if she did love him, she thought as she listened to his breathing slow and even out. Even if it all turned out to be a great mistake, she wasn’t ready to let him go. 

Not yet.


End file.
